It starts in a small village. Two friends run through the forest, laughing and playing like the careless children they were. The two children of 8 and 10 couldn't possibly be bothered by their rumbling stomachs and their dry throats. At that moment, laughter filled their entire bodies and nothing mattered but the bond they shared, out in the middle of nowhere.

Ichimaru Gin was a strange child. Even though his mischievous was always misinterpreted as cold and unnerving, but Shiskikura Nozomi saw him as beautiful. He was kind, caring and unafraid to go the extra mile. He was unbelievably brilliant and he loved adventure. Sometimes, he would drag her up the mountain and she would complain the whole time but she couldn't say no…

Not to Gin.

She was unsure why he had such a hold on her. Maybe it was the fact that they had known each other since they were toddlers on the streets, or maybe it was because Gin was always there for her. He stood up for her, and he believed in her.

Nozomi was a small girl, a few inches shorter than Gin at her young age. She had long, raven blue hair that waved down to the small of her back and a matching colorful smile. Unlike Gin, her eyes didn't disappear when she smiled, but that didn't mean she didn't try to get them to. Perhaps she thought Gin looked pretty when his eyes vanished, perhaps she wanted to be pretty as well.

Catching the sunlight in their hair, they ran along the stream far away from the dull throng of civilization. Nozomi laughed when Gin almost tripped over a tree root, but caught his arm just in time to keep him on his feet.

"Gin-kun, you're clumsy today!" She laughed. "Is it because you're nervous for the exam tomorrow?"

He frowned as she poked his side, nudging him mockingly.

"Of course not." He stuck his nose up in the air haughtily. "Why in the world would I do something like that?"

Nozomi giggled and hugged his arm. "Onii-san, you're very strange when it comes to those things…"

"Huh, whatever, Nono-chan." He said, sticking out his tongue at her and watching her pout before they were pursuing each other, and themselves, in the deep green forest.

Why was she jealous? Of course, Rangiku was a beautiful girl with flowing blond hair and…a quite gifted bosom, but honestly she shouldn't be jealous. For one, Nozomi was just a friend to Gin, more like a younger sister. And now that they were near graduating from the Shino Academy, she was somewhat envious that Gin had to leave, by himself, to tell Rangiku goodbye.

She sat alone in the grass of the commons, the darkness settling on the sky as she looked up to find the stars twinkling above. She wished, just once, she could understand what she felt for Gin. It certainly wasn't anything like she felt for Byakuya Kuchiki, the boy who she'd been pretty much infatuated with since year one. Of course, she was graduating before him and he wasn't very fond of her because she was technically better than him, and Byakuya seemed a little hot-headed when it came to him being the best.

Nozomi was startling back to coherency when she was shocked onto her back, a grinning Gin hovering over her with her shoulders pinned against the ground. "Hey!" She cried. "What's wrong with you?"

"Didn't see it comin', did ya?" He told her with a smug expression.

"Yeah, yeah, you're so awesome, you learned to hide your spiritual pressure." Nozomi rolled her eyes, pushing him back and glaring holes into his head. "You're such a show-off."

"Am not." He said, folding his hands in his lap as he gazed at her. "Are you excited about graduation?"

"No." She sighed, keeping her eyes on the grass. "We're going into different divisions."

"I'm sure you'll do great in the third division, Nono-chan." Gin ruffled her hair and she grimaced.

"But you'll be all the way over in the 5th Division." She muttered shamefully. "I'll miss you're weird eye-smile."

"You'll see me all the time!" Gin snickered and shook his head. "You're such a baby."

"Nuh-uh." She perked her head up, raising an eyebrow. "I'm no more a baby than you."

"I'm two years older than you, imouto-chan." Gin leaned back on his hands arrogantly and she almost growled at him, but decided that wouldn't prove her point.

"One of these days, I'll show you." She crossed her arms stubbornly. "I'll show I'm more grown up than I seem."

"When that day comes…ah, who'm I kiddin'?" He shook his head. "That day's never gonna come."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not nice."

"Point proven."

She responded to his snarky remark by tackling him down to the grass, in a much similar fashion that he did to her. He laughed as the rolled, getting grass stains all over their white school uniforms. They were still carefree, they were still best friends, they were still the kids who ran around playing with imaginary dragons in the forest and experimented with spiritual pressure in secret.

Their fate hadn't touched them yet, and neither had the bitter tongue of betrayal.

Comments:

Sorry it's so short… :/ It's kind of an introductory chapter, if you will. So bear with me, my dearest readers, for I will return with more…once I finish my homework. :D